Many Ohio State fans are down on Ryan Day heading into the College Football Playoff, but the head coach found a surprising defender Friday night in Nick Saban.
The former Alabama coach and now College GameDay analyst went after Ohio State fans who have vented their frustration with Day. While the Buckeyes are in the CFP, they’ve lost four straight games to archrival Michigan, haven’t won a Big Ten championship since 2020, and are still seeking their first national title with Day. Many fans of the program expect more.
Saban said Day and his players need to ignore all the negative chatter.
“I think every coach has got to define how he wants to do it, and I have a lot of respect for Ryan Day and how he’s tried to do it,” Saban said on CGD. “For me, I always wanted to get every player in the organization to reach their full potential.
“But a big part of that was insulating the players from external factors, criticism, internet. You know, I used to tell the players all the time, ‘Why do you care about what some guy puts on the internet, who’s a fat guy, in his underwear, living in his mother’s basement?'”
“Jeez!” Pat McAfee said as everyone on the set laughed.
“Why do you care?” Saban reiterated. “Why does that mean anything to you? Why does that affect you in any way, shape, or form? We should be focused on what we control, and what we can do.”
Saban also had a pointed message for Ohio State fans.
“And it’s the same thing with the fans,” Saban said. “If Ohio State wants to beat Michigan, they need to be positive about their coach and their players … they have an opportunity to win the national championship. Everybody ought to be supporting the hell out of them so that they have the best opportunity to do it, and quit all this negative bull****.”
No. 8 Ohio State hosts No. 9 Tennessee on Saturday night at 8 p.m. (ET).
[ESPN]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.